Earlier this week Milan's Bulgari hotel hosted the formal debut of Matthew Williamson's capsule handbag collection for the luxury jewelry and accessory house of the same name. The cocktail party was held in the hotel's garden under the lush verdure of implanted palm fronds and colorful exotic foliage in an elaborate setup that channeled a fanciful jungle — the perfect backdrop for Williamson's bags.

Inspired by the fluoro-neon tones of blue sapphires, emerald greens, and rubellite, Williamson channeled the House's high jewelry archives into the color palette for his collection. The designer, who famously embraced a liberal use of bright colors to make a name for himself under his eponymous clothing and accessories line, displayed a masterful use of colorplay in his new collection for Bulgari.

His fashion-forward play on classic leather-work and construction techniques, which are central to the House's existing repertoire of handbags and leather goods, will be available in stores this January.

Party-goers such as Nicola Bulgari, Rachel Bilson, Carine Roitfeld and our own ELLE team perused the new collection, the collective chorus of `ohhs' and `ahhs' proved that there was only one major hit of this party.